30 May 2007

There will be more reasons than usual to gawk strangely at Jesper Parnevik this coming weekend at the Memorial Tournament. Known for his bicycle-style hat with a turned up bill and unusual clothing, Parnevik has added a new dimension to his look: a cut up shoe, and a limp.

Parnevik took on a case of beer last week in the Bahamas, the the beer won.

"It was one of those stupid things," Parnevik said Wednesday while tuning up for Thursday's opening round. "I was on my boat in the Bahamas and we were docking and I was running inside the boat to do something and I ran a little bit too fast and didn't see a case of beer in the middle of the room and jammed my toe into it."

Parnevik went to the doctor, but there's not much you can do for a bum toe anyhow. So he had to be a little inventive. He's added his own take on his shoes, and made them a pain reliever of sorts. He sliced his shoe open with a kitchen knife to give his toe a little more wriggle room.

He can barely walk now. So how's he going to play and walk the course? Will it work?

"I hope so," he said. "One thing I noticed is I hit it a lot higher because I'm hanging back on my right foot."